Kayak Singles, 1,000 metres, Men

Unlike the 1980 American-led boycott, which had had a limited impact on the canoeing events, the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics severely depleted the field in the sport. This was undeniable in the men’s K-1 1000, for the defending Olympic and four-time World Champion Rüdiger Helm of East Germany was absent, as was the most recent runner-up, Artūras Vieta of the Soviet Union. This left three major contenders at the Games: Alan Thompson of New Zealand, the 1982 World runner-up and 1983 bronze medalist, Norway’s Einar Rasmussen, the 1978 World runner-up and 1981 and 1982 bronze medalist, and Vasile Dîba, a four-time Olympic and seven-time World medalist across various disciplines, who was representing 1981 World runner-up Romania.

Of these three men, only Thompson won his heat, with Dîba and Rasmussen coming in third in heats won by France’s Philippe Boccara and Yugoslavia’s Milan Janić, the 1978 World runner-up, respectively. Boccara and Thompson captured their heats in the semi-finals, with the latter helping to eliminate Rasmussen in the process, while Janić and Dîba were second and third behind Great Britain’s Stephen Jackson. In the medal, Thompson won the gold medal without too much difficulty, while Janić had to stave off a challenge from American Greg Barton to win silver with only half of a second to spare. Barton came in for a surprise third-place finish, while Boccara, Dîba, and Jackson were sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively. Thompson would go on to become a double Olympic champion at the Games by helping his nation win the K-4 1000 later in the day.